


Birthday Boys

by justanothermaniac



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: AND ALSO OLD, Birthday Fluff, Cayenne the stuffed cat, DID I MENTION ITS MY BIRTHDAY, Flirting, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME AGAIN, I literally only wrote this as a birthday present to myself, It's so fluffy you're gonna die, Jerome is also soft but not a baby, M/M, Miah is a soft baby, Sibling Incest, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, YES I AM EXCITED, also i know nothing about ties, i love them both so much, jerome is a very talented thief, literally googled most expensive ties, lots of flirting, love for Cayenne, miah is learning, or shoes, seriously, that's right I'm making him part of my universe now, you saw that coming tho didn't you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 15:01:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19976014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanothermaniac/pseuds/justanothermaniac
Summary: Jeremiah rolls his eyes but the corners of his mouth are twitching. "You're lucky I love you", he says, holding the package out to his twin. "Happy birthday, jerk."Jerome cackles, taking the present before swiftly turning around and lifting their mattress up. He pulls out a rather clumsily wrapped, rectangular package, holding it out to Jeremiah. "Happy birthday, dork!"





	Birthday Boys

**Author's Note:**

> I AM 23 NOW! Yay! But aww. My youth is over. BUT I LOVE BIRTHDAYS ANYWAY.
> 
> You probably already read it in the tags, I literally only wrote this for me. Didn't even proof-read it much so, this is what it looks like when jam just writes stuff that comes from her heart. Probably sucks. BUT WHO CARES BECAUSE FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF AND BIRTHDAYS.
> 
> I love Cayenne, by the way. Please don't be mean to my son.
> 
> Maybe some of you guys might enjoy this bottomless pit of tooth-rotting fluff. I know I do. And now I'm off to the cinema BECAUSE IT'S MY BIRTHDAY YAY.
> 
> Ahem. Sorry about that. I love you guys, feel hugged!! 💙💙💙

* * *

**4th birthday**

* * *

"Happy birthday, Miah!"

Jeremiah shrieks, quickly jumping to his feet and hiding his notebook behind his back. He's been laying on his belly on his usual spot behind their trailer, putting the finishing touches to his drawing. He's been working on it for weeks, redoing it at least six times, the number of pages in his notebook shrinking significantly.

But this drawing has to be perfect.

Jeremiah smiles happily when his twin brother approaches. Jerome is beaming, hands behind his back and bouncing on his feet. "Wanna see your present?"

Jeremiah nods, still clutching his notebook behind his back, his heart pounding twice as fast as usual. He really hopes Jerome will like his present. He's worked so hard on it, he even got blisters on his fingers from sharpening his pencils all the time.

Jerome takes another step closer, clearing his throat and puffing out his chest. "For our fourth birthday", he announces in a deep voice as he imitates the ringleader, making Jeremiah giggle, "I, Jerome Valeska, present to _you -!"_

He pokes Jeremiah's nose, making him giggle again. "- Jeremiah Valeska, your very own...pet!" 

He holds the present out to Jeremiah and his breath hitches. It's a stuffed cat, a ginger one at that, with a white belly and white spots at the tips of its paws and ears. Jeremiah can hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears as he slowly reaches out, running his fingers over the fur on the cat's belly. It's soft and warm. Jeremiah feels his chest swell. "How did..?", he asks and Jerome stands up straight, obviously proud of himself. "Snatched it from the shooting gallery at the funfair. They should step up their security game." 

Jerome is grinning. "What are ya waitin' for? Take it! It's yours!" He shoves the cat against Jeremiah's chest and he's forced to catch it with both arms, the notebook dropping to the grass in the process, but Jeremiah doesn't realize. He looks at the stuffed animal in his arms, the black knobs that serve at its eyes, the round pink nose. It just stares back silently, patiently. 

He loves it. He loves it so much.

He hugs the cat to his chest and closes his eyes as he feels them prickle with tears. Jerome got him this. Jerome stole this for him. It's much, much more meaningful than a stupid drawing.

Jeremiah buries his face in the cat's soft fur, missing the fact that Jerome spotted the notebook on the grass. He picks it up and gasps. "Did you make this for me?"

Jeremiah snaps his head back up, body going stiff. Oh no. He reaches out to snatch the notebook from his twin but Jerome jumps backwards, eyes glued to the first page. "I-I'm sorry..!", Jeremiah tries to say, his voice thick with tears, "I know it's no-not much and if, if I'd known y-!"

He doesn't get to finish because Jerome's hand shoots forward and covers his mouth. Jeremiah blinks rapidly in confusion.

Jerome is staring at him, his eyes wide and sparkling. "Are you kidding? It's the best present ever! How long did it take ya to make this? It's..." Jerome drops his hand from Jeremiah's mouth, grasping the edges of the notebook tightly as he looks at the drawing again. "What does that say?", he asks in awe, pointing to the neatly written letters. Jeremiah gulps, hugging the cat closer. "It...it says _happy birthday",_ he whispers. 

Its a drawing of them. They're on a ship, the sun setting into the sea behind them and in the top corner the words _HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEROME_ are written in red, Jerome's favorite color. Jeremiah has practiced that phrase for over a month using a scrap of paper where Uncle Zack (thanks to one of his rare bursts of kindness) scribbled it down for him. The _happy birthday_ part at least. Jeremiah has known how to spell his brother's name for months. It's one of the first things they both wanted to learn, how to spell each other's name.

Jerome hugs the notebook close to his chest and Jeremiah gulps. "You...you like it? Really?", he whispers, his chest heavy with hope and Jerome looks at him as if he grew a second head. "LIKE? Miah, it's...it's beautiful, it's _perfect!"_ He steps closer, still hugging the notebook with one arm, but pulling Jeremiah against him with the other now. _"You're_ perfect", he adds and Jeremiah buries his face in his twin's neck, the stuffed cat getting squished between their bodies. Jerome nuzzles the side of his twin's face. "You're the best brother in the world."

Jeremiah pulls away at that, shaking his head vigorously as he wipes his eyes. "Nuh-uh", he croaks, tightening his hold around the stuffed cat again. _"You_ are."

Jerome's smile is as bright as the sun itself. "Happy birthday, Miah", he says, grabbing him by the shoulders and pressing a sweet peck to his lips. The younger twin smiles happily. "Happy birthday, Jerome."

* * *

**Seventh birthday**

* * *

"Jerooome!"

Jerome groans, pulling the blanket over his head. "For the last time, Miah, I scared away all the monsters under our bed", he mutters, eyes squeezed shut. He can feel his brother's weight atop of him as he's straddling Jerome and as much as he loves Jeremiah, he's not going to check for monsters twice in one night. "No, dummy, it's morning! Happy seventh birthday!", his twin says giddily and _that_ is definitely a reason to emerge from the depths of his pillow and blanket.

He almost throws Jeremiah off of him as he darts upwards into a sitting position, but his twin doesn't seem bothered by it. He's beaming, clutching Cayenne (the stuffed cat Jerome got him for their fourth birthday) to his chest. He wraps his arms around Jerome's neck, Cayenne's fur tickling him a little.

"Happy seventh birthday to you too!", Jerome replies with a grin, hugging his brother close. They pull away just a little so Jeremiah can press his lips to Jerome's. "I'll give you your present first!", he says then, quickly untangling himself from Jerome, shoving Cayenne against his chest as a silent question to hold him before he darts towards the wardrobe.

"Someone's bouncy", the older twin notes, playing with one of Cayenne's ears and still grinning as Jeremiah rummages through a pile of clothes (the wardrobe doesn't have a suspension rod because absolutely everything they own is either incomplete or broken). "That's because I know you'll love your present!"

He turns back around, a small package in his hands, wrapped like candy. His smile turns into a frown. "Don't tug at his ear!", he scolds and Jerome giggles. "Don't be like that, he doesn't mind!" Jerome holds the cat up by both ears. "See? No complainin'!"

Jeremiah gasps and snatches Cayenne from his brother's hold, hugging him close. "If you're gonna be like that I'll give your present to someone else!"

Jerome raises an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Who?"

Jeremiah purses his lips, like he always does when he's thinking awfully hard about something. Jerome finds it adorable. "Uncle Zack!", Jeremiah blurts out then and Jerome laughs.

"You'd never!" 

"Wanna bet?!"

Giggling, Jerome gets off the bed and squishes his twin's cheeks. "It's so cute how you protective you are over Cayenne", he coos, relishing the way Jeremiah's cheeks heat up. He raises an eyebrow before letting go of his twin, leaning forward a little so he's level with the stuffed cat. "Sorry for tugging at your ear, buddy. Love ya." He pokes Cayenne's pink nose.

His heart flutters when he hears Jeremiah chuckle fondly. "He forgave me, now gimme my present!", Jerome says when he leans back again, smirking at his twin. Jeremiah rolls his eyes but the corners of his mouth are twitching. "You're lucky I love you", he says, holding the package out to his twin. "Happy birthday, jerk."

Jerome cackles, taking the present before swiftly turning around and lifting their mattress up. He pulls out a rather clumsily wrapped, rectangular package, holding it out to Jeremiah. "Happy birthday, dork!"

Jeremiah huffs, taking the present but not opening it yet, waiting for Jerome to open his first. He does so very eagerly, ripping the newsprint off (wrapping paper is hard to come by here when you have no money, or aren't as talented a thief as Jerome is).

His breath hitches and he holds Jeremiah's present up. It's a brandnew-looking pocket knife, the dark red handle almost shining. "Whoa", Jerome breathes out, unable to look away from the knife, "Miah, HOW?" He flips the blade, running his fingertips over the dull side. 

Jeremiah giggles. "Stole it!", he announces and Jerome does look at him then. "Did not."

His baby brother looks so insanely proud that Jerome expects him to explode any second. "Did too! I learned from the best after all. I asked the seller whether she knew the way to the nearest bus station because I was so _horribly lost._ I grabbed it while she explained and slipped it in my back pocket!"

He's practically bouncing and Jerome can't help it, he surges forward and pulls his twin against his chest, squishing Cayenne between their bodies as they do ever so often, the knife still grasped tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, _thank you, Miah!"_ Jerome pulls away and showers Jeremiah's face with kisses. "And you _stole_ it, I'm so proud of you and just, wow, WOW, thank you so much!"

Jeremiah giggles, half-heartedly shoving at his twin's chest. "I knew you'd love it! Now lemme open yours!"

Jeremiah, in contradiction to his brother, peels the purple wrapping paper (at this point, Jerome steals stuff for sport) off neatly and carefully, prompting the older twin to roll his eyes. "Get on with it, Miah, I wanna know what you think!"

"Don't be so impatient! I don't wanna rip the -"

He stops talking, his eyes blowing up wide behind his glasses. "A new maze book!", he close-to squeals, running his fingers over the cover and Jerome smirks. "Where's my hug?", he asks teasingly and Jeremiah looks at him with absolutely adoration before practically jumping him.

Jerome laughs as they tumble and land on their bed, Jeremiah's arms and legs around him like an octopus. "I love, love, love, love _love_ you!", the younger twin squeaks before kissing him on the lips again. Jerome smiles into it. "Iluvyuthu", he tries to say against his twin's lips. It's at that point he realizes that he's still holding the knife. _Woops._

He quickly flips the blade away with one hand, prompting Jeremiah to pull away from him and look at him with a scolding expression. "I heard that. Don't use it with one hand yet, you're gonna hurt yourself."

Jerome rolls his eyes. "Shut up."

"Make me."

That makes Jerome grin. "Gladly", he says before pressing his lips to Jeremiah's again.

* * *

**Tenth birthday**

* * *

"Can I open my eyes now?"

"Nuh-uh! Not yet but we're almost there!"

Jeremiah sighs as he lets his brother lead him forward, grasping both of his hands while Jerome is walking backwards. "You know, we agreed, no birthday presents this year unless they lay off", the younger twin reminds him. Lila and Uncle Zack have recently started to "rent" Jerome for labor around the circus, leaving little to no time for the twins to actually spend time together, let alone worry about birthday presents. Jerome forbade Jeremiah from buying (or stealing) _anything_ for him because he wasn't sure if he'd get to return the favor, so Jeremiah suggested they just skip this year. After all, they don't need presents to prove their love to each other (Jerome has snickered and called Jeremiah a "sap" when he said that, even though he agreed). 

Jerome replies with a huff. "I also agreed to _not_ mess with the tires on Uncle Zack's car and ya know how that ended, so, ya think I give a shit?"

"You _also_ agreed to stop cursing."

Jerome snickers, letting go of Jeremiah's hands to move behind him, his hands coming up to rest on his shoulders and push him forward. "You love it when I curse, naughty boy. Okay, stop! Open your eyes."

Jeremiah sighs, albeit smiling, and does as he's told. His jaw drops.

They're standing in front of a huge oak tree, it's branches reaching far up into the sky. But what catches Jeremiah's eye what's carved into the bark.

_Jerome_

_&_

_Jeremiah_

_Twin Flames_

The words are encircled by a heart, a small _10_ on the bottom outside of it. Jeremiah's heart swells and he feels heat pool in his stomach. "I thought I gotta take the chance as long as we're in Gotham since ya like it here so much", Jerome whispers behind him.

Jeremiah takes another tiny step forward, his fingers tracing the carvings. Jerome must've done this with the pocket knife Jeremiah got him on their seventh birthday. He feels tears well up in his eyes, the corners of his mouth pulling outwards into a smile.

"So...happy tenth birthday, broski."

Jeremiah swirls around. He grabs his unsuspecting twin by the cheeks and smashes their lips together. Jerome stumbles a little but manages to regain his footing, wrapping his arms around Jeremiah's waist. "It's perfect", Jeremiah whispers, aligning their foreheads, "I love it. I love you. _Thank you,_ Jerome."

His twin hums happily, nuzzling his nose against Jeremiah's. "You're welcome, baby bro. I love you too."

* * *

**Fifteenth birthday**

* * *

Jeremiah slips through the door as quietly as possible, managing to close it without a sound. He smiles fondly when he looks at his sleeping twin. Jerome is laying on his belly, one arm under the pillow, the other dangling off the bed. He's snoring softly and Jeremiah chuckles to himself as he approaches.

He places the tray on the nightstand before crouching down in front of his twin. He leans in, softly pressing his lips to Jerome's. When he doesn't respond, Jeremiah presses a little closer, running his tongue over Jerome's bottom lip.

He begins to stir and Jeremiah smiles when he finally gets a response, Jerome humming happily when he captures Jeremiah's upper lip between both of his.

When Jeremiah slowly pulls away, Jerome still has his eyes closed. "Whoever you are, don't let my gorgeous brother catch ya", he murmurs, making Jeremiah giggle. "Happy fifteenth birthday", he whispers and Jerome hums again, slowly blinking his eyes open. "Happy fifteenth birthday yourself", he replies before stretching, his bones popping audibly before he manages to sit up. "Y'know, you could wake me like this more often."

"I already do."

"That doesn't count as waking me up, since we never leave the bed afterwards."

"And whose fault is that?"

Jerome snickers, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Hey, I wasn't complaining", he says before finally noticing the absolutely _intoxicating_ smell coming from the nightstand. He turns his head, his eyes going wide. "Chocolate pancakes?", he gasps, turning back to Jeremiah who's still crouching in front of the bed.

The younger twin smiles sweetly. "And hot chocolate with three sugars. I can't believe you don't have diabetes yet", he teases but Jerome doesn't even register the somewhat-insult. He grabs the plate and fork, digging in immediately. He closes his eyes and hums, feeling as if tongue just took a bath in a rainbow. "Fucking hell, I love your cooking", he says with his mouth full and Jeremiah moves to sit on the edge of the bed, pouting a little. "Just my cooking?"

"And you. Totally fucking love you", Jerome adds, shoving another fork full of chocolate pancake in his mouth.

Jeremiah rolls his eyes. "Aren't we charming today."

Jerome points at him with the fork. "Hey, you know I'm _very_ charming, but I'm having breakfast in bed with a ginger supermodel sitting next to me, how am I supposed to have even _one_ coherent thought?", he argues and Jeremiah, despite blushing, raises an eyebrow at him. "Calling me a _ginger supermodel_ is a little bit narcissistic, don't you think?"

Jerome grins at that. "Not when it's true." He puts the plate aside and makes an inviting gesture with his hands. "Now get over here."

Jeremiah chuckles and does as he's told, straddling Jerome and wrapping his arms around his neck. "So you like your present so far?", he asks with a smile and Jerome hums, bumping their noses together. "Very, very much", he whispers, "Do I get to give you yours now?"

Jeremiah chuckles, tilting his head in the cutest way. Jerome's heart does a somersault.

"Actually", Jeremiah says in a hushed voice, leaning in to graze his lips over Jerome's earlobe, making him shiver, "I'm not done with my present yet." At that, he rolls his hips, his backside _very conveniently_ grinding into Jerome's lap.

The older twin sucks in a breath at the suggestive action and words, blinking rapidly. Up to this point, the farthest they've gone is the occasional blow job and the fact that the sweet, shy, blushing _mess_ that is Jeremiah initiates them going further causes Jerome's brain to have a complete meltdown.

Jeremiah seems to notice. He giggles and pulls back, looking at his twin through his beautiful lashes. "Unless you're not interested?"

Jerome is absolutely certain several of his brain cells just exploded. "You little shit", he presses out before surging forward, kissing Jeremiah with much more force than necessary.

Not that Jeremiah wouldn't appreciate it. He moans into Jerome's mouth, breaking the kiss only to whisper _happy birthday_ again before diving back into him.

So far, their fifteenth is the best birthday they ever had.

* * *

**Eighteenth birthday**

* * *

"Wakey wakey, birthday boy ~"

Jeremiah smiles at the hushed words right at his ear, keeping his eyes closed, nuzzling into the fur of Cayenne's head. "You're a birthday boy too", he mumbles before yawning, cuddling back against his twin brother with absolutely _no intention_ of getting up anytime soon.

Jerome snickers, pressing a kiss to the spot behind his ear. "True, but this birthday boy has been awake and _terribly lonely_ for _at least_ five minutes, while you were busy cuddling with a stuffed cat instead of said other birthday boy."

Jeremiah huffs. "At least Cayenne doesn't hog the blanket like a certain birthday boy does. But five whole minutes? You poor thing." He turns around in his brother's arms, blinking his eyes open. Jerome is grinning at him and wriggles his eyebrows. "You don't look a day older than seventeen", he coos and Jeremiah chuckles. "Thank you, neither do you. But that might just be because I'm not wearing my glasses."

His twin gasps at that. "Rude! Ya sayin' I look old?"

"You're the one who always makes a fuzz about being thirteen minutes older than me."

"Y'know, you really gotta learn to respect your elders, baby brother."

Jeremiah snorts, reaching out to run his fingers down the side of Jerome's face. "Thanks for proving my point. Happy birthday, jerk", he whispers and Jerome hums. "Happy birthday, dork", he whispers back before closing the distance between them. Jeremiah's eyes flutter closed again and he shivers with delight, his hand sliding in Jerome's hair.

Before they can deepen the kiss, however, Jerome abruptly pulls back. "Hold that thought", he breathes out, blindly reaching behind him and bringing back a rectangular, black velvet box. "Open it."

Jeremiah blinks before chuckling a little. "If that's a diamond necklace, I'm gonna feel a little offended", he teases while sitting up and gently putting Cayenne on the pillow behind him.

Jerome snorts. "What, because only women wear necklaces? That's sexist, bro."

"No, because I explicitly told you that I only accept rubies."

Jerome laughs, sitting up now as well and shaking his head in mock frustration. "Just fucking open it already, little diva", he says fondly and Jeremiah does. His eyes almost pop out of his head. "Is that..?"

He runs his fingers over the purple cashmere tie, his heart pounding hard and fast. "Jerome, that's...that's _too much,_ I mean...that's...that's a _charvet tie",_ he gasps and Jerome hums. "I sure hope it is, stealing that one was hard. Security was _crazy._ But the saleswoman had the hots for me and I was _this close_ to having to bang her. I mean, she was hot so I definitely wouldn't have minded that much but it's not like I-!"

Jerome doesn't get to finish because Jeremiah pulls him in by his collar, shutting him up in the best possible way. He closes his eyes and leans into it, cupping his twin's cheek with one hand.

"You are a miracle", Jeremiah whispers when he breaks the kiss, pressing his forehead against his brother's. Jerome giggles, his heart skipping a beat. "So ya like it?", he asks with a smirk, to which the younger twin replies with a slight hit to Jerome's shoulder. "You're the absolute best. I don't deserve you."

Jerome nuzzles his nose against his twin's. "I am, you do and also, it's definitely _not_ too much." He presses a peck to his twin's nose before bouncing back and grinning. "Now, where's my present?"

Jeremiah laughs, carefully putting the tie back into the box. "Now my present's gonna look cheap", he says with a pout, turning around a little to pull a rather large package from under his pillow.

"Hey, no worries about the price here, I got your tie for free! And also, you slept with _that_ under your pillow?", Jerome asks incredulously, accepting the neatly wrapped present. "Your neck must be sore as fuck."

Jeremiah shrugs, smiling sweetly. "I thought it might persuade you to give me a massage later?"

"Oh, broski, like you need to _persuade_ me for that. Ya just didn't know where to hide it." He rips the wrapping paper off and lifts the lid of the box. "No way!" He beams, taking the pair of shoes out of the box. "Nike Air Max?!"

"Your shoes are falling apart and I figured...I don't know, it was probably a stupid idea...", Jeremiah says sheepishly, casting his gaze downward as he twists his fingers. "The tie is perfect, more than perfect, and you always steal the things you want when you want them, so I wasn't sure what -"

This time, it's Jeremiah who gets shut up in the best possible way. He melts right into it, reaching up to hold onto Jerome's wrist as he's cupping Jeremiah's cheek. "I love them", Jerome mumbles once they pulled apart, "You're the cutest and the best. The B - E - S - T", he spells, making Jeremiah giggle. "Now you're exaggerating."

"Exaggerating? _Me?_ I am deeply hurt by that!"

Jeremiah shakes his head with a chuckle. "I love you", he whispers, smiling when Jerome kisses his nose again. "I love you too, Miah."

* * *

**Twenty-fifth birthday**

* * *

Jeremiah takes another sip from his whiskey. He's not sure if it's the third or the fourth glass but it's definitely not going to be his last, _that_ he knows for certain. Sighing, he lets his gaze drop from the TV to Cayenne, who's seated in his lap. He isn't as soft as he used to be and the white fur on his belly, paws and ears has turned almost grey. "Just you and me this year, huh?", he mutters, taking one of the frayed paws in his hand. Cayenne just stares back at him silently, his black eyes as patient and warm as always. 

Arkham Asylum has changed the visiting policies last month. Instead of once every day, patients can only be visited once a week. It's disgusting, really. Arkham's patients are barely treated as humans anymore.

Including Jeremiah's very own brother.

He hugs Cayenne close to his chest. It's their twenty-fifth birthday and the first one they're not spending together (excluding their nineteenth, but Jeremiah blocks the memory. It was the darkest year of his life). It's strange, it feels _wrong_ and it hurts. Jeremiah feels like a lost child.

"Y'know what?", he mutters into the fur on Cayenne's head, "You're turning twenty-one today." He pulls away and bumps his glass against Cayenne's nose. "Cheers. I'd offer you a drink, but I'm not that out of it yet." He chuckles to himself, imagining what Jerome would think if he could see him like this. He'd probably smile and tease him a bit, but ultimately, he'd sing Cayenne a birthday song. The thought makes his heart clench. He wishes it were true.

"Did I ever tell you why I called you Cayenne?", he whispers. Cayenne just looks up at him, waiting. "Because you reminded me of Jerome. You're cute and soft and cuddly. And a great listener. And when I first laid eyes on you, I immediately loved you."

Of course Cayenne doesn't answer. Jeremiah sighs, caressing the stuffed cat's cheek. 

"Jerome is all of that. But he's also...fierce and has an attitude. He's like spice. Like Cayenne pepper." He huffs. "I'll admit, it's not the cleverest name but I was four. I was pretty proud of it at the time." He pokes Cayenne's nose. "And the name still fits you."

Cayenne is still waiting, always silently waiting for Jeremiah to talk everything off his chest. He gulps as he feels his eyes starting to sting with tears, hugging the stuffed cat close to his chest. "I miss him, Cayenne", he presses out, burying his face in Cayenne's head. It isn't as easy as it used to be, Jeremiah is a grown man now and unlike himself, Cayenne of course hasn't grown. He's still an endless source of comfort though and Jeremiah suddenly realizes how much he really loves the stuffed cat. "I really do."

"Geez, who is it that you're missin' so much? Gettin' real jealous over here."

Jeremiah snaps his head up, a shiver running down his spine at the _very_ familiar voice. And indeed, Jerome is leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised, his scarred face split into a grin. He's wearing his Arkham uniform minus the shirt, the suspenders looking so _ridiculously_ good on him that it should be illegal. But everything else Jerome does is illegal already, so that would probably be a little over the top.

Wait, what is he doing?

_Jerome is here._

He darts up and off the couch, Jerome giggling when Jeremiah practically lunges at him. "Happy birthday, baby bro!" He wraps his arms around Jeremiah's waist and lifts him off his feet. "Got no present this year though, work has been _insane._ It's like an asylum over there! _"_

Jeremiah laughs, his own arms hooked tightly around his twin's neck. It's amazing how much more built Jerome is and that he's still able to lift Jeremiah up like it's nothing. But most importantly, it's amazing that he's _here._ "How did you get out of Arkham?"

"Ya mean _this time?"_ Jerome snickers, pressing a kiss to his brother's temple. "One of the guards owed me a favor. And I promised to come back."

He puts Jeremiah down and his twin pulls back a little without letting go of his neck, looking at him pointedly. Jerome groans. "I'm going to! Still got some business to take care of before I blow the popstand for real." He wriggles his eyebrows. "But did ya actually expect that I'd allow you to spend our twenty-fifth birthday without me?"

He turns his head towards the couch, where Jeremiah - in his excitement - left Cayenne. "'sup, buddy? Happy twenty-first! Hope you're gonna drink responsibly, now that you can."

Jeremiah starts laughing but at the same time, there's tears running down his cheeks and he's not sure of they're tears of happiness. He should be happy, Jerome is here with him.

But he's not going to stay. He can never stay.

He feels Jerome's hands on his cheeks, wiping away the tears with his thumbs. "Loving the maniacal laughter, but the tears gotta go", he mutters, leaning in to press his lips to Jeremiah's. The younger twin closes his eyes and tries to hold back a sob, his body trembling from the sheer effort. Jerome pulls him in closer, opening Jeremiah's mouth with his own and basically thrusting his tongue inside, as if he's trying to suffocate every one of those pesky sobs that dare to try and cause his brother pain. Jeremiah only cries harder at the thought but he kisses back desperately, one hand sliding in Jerome's hair and gripping, making sure that nobody is going to take him away.

Jerome moans into his brother's mouth at the action, his hands sliding down to the back of his thighs, gripping and swiftly picking him up again. Jeremiah gasps, wrapping his legs around Jerome's waist, clinging to him for dear life.

"Happy birthday, Miah", Jerome gasps when they finally break the kiss, running his nose along the side of Jeremiah's face. "I love you so much."

Jeremiah lets his head drop forward to bury his face in his twin's neck. "Happy birthday, Jerome", he whispers back, his chest about to burst from emotion, "I love you too. I love you."


End file.
